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A struggling stand-up comic with a deranged stalker. A beef shop breaking into the world of high-end dining. A period drama set in feudal Japan. A wild video-game adaptation. John Mulaney, telling jokes. Our queues may have freed up a bit thanks to last year’s Hollywood strike — protests that effectively put the kibosh on streaming’s show-per-week release schedule — but the handful of series we did get proved good TV can survive (and thrive) away from a crowded landscape.

There’s still more to come, but for now, TV has given us plenty to talk about in 2024, from bingeable comedies with edge to prestige dramas on a global scale, and a reinvention of the stale talk-show format. These are our picks for the best TV shows of the year (so far).

Abbott Elementary

Summer break lasted a bit too long for Abbott Elementary fans but the return to the classroom after an extended hiatus and multiple Hollywood strikes didn’t disappoint. The show’s third season went heavy on the heart and surprisingly light on the laughs as it pushed its main cast to some difficult places. Quinta Brunson’s Janine left her beloved school for a time, Tyler James William’s Gregory pined for her from afar (and finally invested himself in his students), Jacob (Chris Perfetti) survived a breakup, and Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) and Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) weather big institutional changes. Despite the lack of a joke-per-minute format, Abbott still churned out some GIF-worthy jokes – almost all courtesy of the show’s reigning MVP, Ava Coleman (Janelle James) – but it excelled in deepening our love for its characters, proving its biggest strength is in its stories, not its punchline set-ups. — Jessica Toomer

Baby Reindeer

Richard Gadd’s semi-autobiographical tragicomedy is the cringiest bit of television you’ll watch all year, made all the more unbearable because of its real-life ties. Gadd plays a version of himself in Donny Dunn, a struggling comedian tending a local pub to make ends meet. His self-indulgent act of kindness to a blubbering woman named Martha (a transcendent Jessica Gunning) sets off a chain reaction that destabilizes his already troubled existence in unexpected ways. Over 41,000 emails, 106 letters, and 350 hours of voicemails later and Donny’s nightmare forces all of us to confront the ugliest parts of human nature. This is a story of trauma, abuse, obsession, and the worst ways in which people use each other to excuse and escape their own realities. — Jessica Toomer

Champion

Netflix won big with the addition of British TV series Champion to its library at the beginning of the year. Champion won the heart of viewers thanks to a relatable Black story that opted against glorifying the trauma they experience. Instead, we have the mental health struggles of Bosco Champion, played by Malcolm Kamulete, who battles the effects from a stint in prison as he attempts to reclaim his best rapper title in London. The wrinkle in the show that makes it a binge-worthy watch is Bosco’s sister Vita is a talented songwriter and singer who wants a career of her own rather than living in Bosco’s shadow as his ghostwriter. Vita’s pursuit of her dreams, against Bosco’s wishes, erupts into an emotional and passion-filled battle that divides their family, exposes secrets, and forces everyone to take a hard look in the mirror — perfect ingredients to create the thrilling drama that Champion is. It’s just unfortunate that there won’t be a second season of the show. — Wongo Okon

Fallout

In the post-apocalyptic backdrop of Fallout, the only thing scarier than the fall of modern civilization and the rise of over-the-top violence is Walton Goggins without a nose. In the Amazon Prime series, Goggins shines as the shifty Ghoul, a former Hollywood hotshot whose nose did not survive the nuclear war. Now he acts as a lonesome bounty hunter lurking on the surface. Unfortunately, you kind of have to root for the guy, despite his soulless actions. He crosses paths with vault dweller Ella Purnell as the overly optimistic Lucy and Aaron Moten as an anxious squire named Maximus who are each trying to uncover the truth about what really caused the nuclear war.

The characters clash over their own internal morals, which makes for a surprisingly human story set in a nuclear wasteland. The series seamlessly interweaves familiar concepts from the source material while separating itself enough with a new crew of characters that can stand on their own, including Kyle MacLachlan as Lucy’s quirky dad who has his own hidden agenda and Johnny Pemberton as the Squire Thaddeus. While the first season only scratches the surface (pun intended) of the alternate history of the Fallout franchise, it surely laid the groundwork for a fascinating second season, which is already in the works. — Nina Braca

Hacks

Hacks wrapped up in a neat little package in season 2… so how is season 3 still so good? Well, to begin with, stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder have the kind of mutual-respect boss/subordinate relationship that brings to mind Don Draper and Peggy Olson or — in deference to Deborah Vance’s generation — Mary Richards and Lou Grant. Hacks also has killer guest stars (including Christina Hendricks and Christopher Lloyd), a strong ensemble cast, and a spicy-but-sweet tone that stands out among HBO comedies. You’re a hack if you’re not watching Hacks. — Josh Kurp

Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show

Jerrod Carmichael has reached the rarefied air of comedy fame where people demand more than just laughter. Congratulations?

Sometimes that means jokes are expected to inform and elevate the discourse and, quite possibly, save the world. Sometimes it means being a part of a parasocial relationship with fans where life must be lived in a fishbowl with every relationship and development fully felt (from miles away) and dissected. Carmichael could have run away from all that or built up walls, but instead, he took a camera and decided to have some fun, occasionally making the audience uncomfortable — as with some of his interactions with his parents, stealth evicting a friend, and cheating on his boyfriend. Is it all wholly unscripted? Is Carmichael f*cking with us to create mystery about what is real? And if so, is taking control of the narrative in that way the only way to keep the public at bay? Regardless, Carmichael’s show demands attention. — Jason Tabrys

John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s In LA

John Mulaney’s Everybody’s In LA is the closest thing we’re ever going to get to the magic of the original Muppet Show. It’s an old-school variety show with Mulaney as Kermit The Frog, a well-meaning conductor trying to keep everything together while chaos ensues. Drive-by robots, sunglass night, John Carpenter, call-in guests that nobody is really interested in save for questions about what car they drive, and conversations about ghosts and palm trees. Oh, and a lot of laughs. But not fake laughs. Genuine, take-you-by-surprise generated laughs with people almost falling off the couch. It’s the goddamn best! A complete and total antidote to the political overload and the stuffy template of standard late-night.

Its magic was partly in its ephemera, but nobody (including Mulaney) seems to want to let it go and now it’s in the running for an Emmy. If it ever comes back, I just hope it’s as pure and disorderly as the original and that it doesn’t get run into the ground. — Jason Tabrys

Masters of the Air

“New A-List” member Austin Butler headlines this worthwhile Band Of Brothers followup from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. The series isn’t perfect — especially given the well-founded criticisms of how the Tuskegee Airmen get the narrative shaft — but it’s a solid effort to showcase daring and emotional missions by the 100th Bomb Group who carried out perilous bombing raids “on Hitler’s doorstep.” The ensemble is overall strong as well, and even though Butler is (at times) distractingly handsome, several standout performances emerge. Barry Keough, as always, is an Irish delight, even while perhaps taking on the most “normal” character of his career. Anthony Boyle also delivers another historically compelling performance (he’s an Apple TV+ darling these days), but the real MVP is Nate Mann as Rosie Rosenthal, whose near-miss with becoming a POW sends him on a heartbreakingly human journey to take in the most harrowing portions of the story. — Kimberly Ricci

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

There was plenty of skepticism around the television remake of Mr. And Mrs. Smith and it wasn’t totally unwarranted. In today’s era of remakes, spin-offs, and revivals, it’s expected that the Donald Glover and Maya Erskine-led Mr. And Mrs. Smith faced doubts from critics. But, boy did they prove people wrong. Through eight episodes of the inaugural, Glover and Erskine were nothing short of impressive in their mission as secret agents launched what initially seemed like a promising relationship, all for it to crash, burn, and get riddled with a flurry of bullets and other weapons as the season finale displayed. Mr. And Mrs. Smith was exciting, thrilling, and gripping as it tasked Glover and Erskine’s characters with completing high-risk missions in the face of their crumpling relationship or face extreme consequences like death. Now we just need them to set the record straight on who will be Mr. and Mrs. Smith in season two. — Wongo Okon

Ripley

Netflix’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s lauded crime novel is about as far removed from the homoerotic threesome of 90s-era Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow as it could get. Instead of dreamy, sun-soaked vistas and youthful joie de vivre both praised and preyed upon, this series goes full bore on the noir, giving us a chilling character study shot exclusively in black-and-white. What it lacks in sexual tension and ambiguity it makes up for with Andrew Scott, firmly back in his villain era and determined to slowly scale all the steps of Europe as Thomas Ripley, a New York con-man tasked with bringing an aimless heir to heel. A smooth sociopath with a petty sense of humor and a hunger for a life that doesn’t belong to him, Scott’s Ripley is magnetic and menacing at every turn, eating up the screen as he machinates a new identity for himself at the expense of everyone around him. — Jessica Toomer

Shogun

FX really did the thing here. Series creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks pounced upon an intricate slice of James Clavill’s Asian saga with an infinite supply of maneuvering characters, endless motives, and freaking subtitles, and they emerged with a fully absorbing series that felt accessible for everyone, not simply those who have read the book. That’s no tiny feat, and the show was so resoundingly successful that a pair of additional seasons was greenlit. Hiroyuki Sanada will continue his reign as Lord Toranaga, and yup, Cosmo Jarvis and his TV-invisible manhoodwill be back as John Blackthorne because — let’s face it — Toranaga cannot live without him. The soap-opera factor of this show is too delicious, and the audience clamored for more. — Kimberly Ricci

The Bear

The individual pieces – specific standout performances and episodes like Tomorrow, Napkins, and Ice Chips – may be worth more than the assembled package, but The Bear’s third season still stands out as one of the most ambitious and expertly executed shows on TV. That’s how far ahead of the field it is.

Messy and meandering? Sure, but that’s part of life, same as the occasional heartful or horrifying moment, the shouting, lessons learned through hardship stubbornly received, and the drive and bond of these characters around their aspirations and their found family. Plenty of shows purport to being “real,” but The Bear delivers an authentic seeming run through the minefields of expectations, guilt, and trauma, finding absurdity and small laughs along its big journey. — Jason Tabrys

The Sympathizer

Seriously, is Robert Downey Jr. going for EGOT status? He recently won an Oscar and has already demolished the Golden Globes a few times. He will soon make his Broadway debut, and in this series, he embodies four gleefully eccentric roles: CIA operative, film director, congressman, and professor. This darkly comedic show is a riveting viewing experience that anchors itself in historical events while following Vietnam War-era communist spy (Hoa Xuande), who encounters RDJ’s pivotal characters during this successful adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s same-named Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Another Emmy for RDJ, perhaps? We shall see. — Kimberly Ricci

X-Men ’97

For the most part, the art we loved as children is best left in the past. Star Wars fans have to deal with this idea often, as Disney struggles to make new installments that both capture the way Star Wars made generations originally feel while adding something unique to the increasingly robust catalog. Marvel could have faced equally shaky territory with their plan to continue their X-Men cartoon series, a landmark Saturday morning tradition for ‘90s kids. But the animated nature of the show avoids the pitfalls of aging characters and time gaps, instead picking up right where the original left off. The show manages to feel both small and big at the same time – something Marvel has struggled with in both film and TV of late – while delving into central issues of prejudice that have driven the comic franchise since the beginning and haven’t lost their relevance. X-Men ‘97 proved to be a transportive experience for fans, back to their youth, back to a time where connected universes, market oversaturation, and superhero fatigue were as unfathomable as the concept of streaming itself. — Philip Cosores

There are many reasons why sequels don’t get made until way after the fact, though the main reason is that most stories don’t necessarily warrant a sequel, unless you’re a little yellow minion. But Beverly Hills Cop became an instant hit when it was released in 1984, it only made sense to follow it up with a second one. And then a third one that Eddie Murphy prefers not to think about.

Now, a fourth installment, Beverly Hills: Axel F, is finally premiering nearly 40 years after the original, though Murphy has been planning it for some time, he just needed to wait until it was the right moment. “The reason it took so long for this script to come to for this movie to come together is because we’ve been trying to develop [another] Axel Foley [story] since ’94,” Murphy recently told GameSpot. “But the character wasn’t evolving, and it was just Axel doing stuff.”

Instead of Axel just “doing stuff,” Murphy wanted him to have a more fleshed out story before bringing him back to the big screen. There was an axed TV pilot from 2013 that introduced Axel’s son who becomes a cop, but the show was never picked up.

Finally, after Murphy made Coming 2 America with Netflix, he was ready to take another stab at the character. He explained, “Once we added the whole ‘Axel’s been married, and he’s got a daughter that he’s estranged from and they have a bad relationship,’ that’s what the movie is about, you know?” Murphy said. “On the front, it’s about cops and robbers, but the movie is really about Axel and his daughter reconciling, and once we added that element to it, it just made everything work.”

In Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Axel returns to work together with his daughter and her ex on a dangerous case. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, and Kevin Bacon also star. When in doubt, add an estranged daughter for some buddy cop fun!

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is now streaming on Netflix.

Megan Thee Stallion‘s love for exercise and keeping up her fitness is no secret, but while she’s been on the rollout campaign for her new album, Megan, she hasn’t been able to share many new workout videos with her fans. That’s about to change, though, as Meg shared an advert for the return of her notorious Hottie Bootcamp on social media, showing off a sampling of the twerk-centric workouts she plans to share.

The trailer is shot in the style of a 1990s ad, complete with VHS video artifacts — jumping picture, that weird rolling line you used to get down the screen, and of course, static at the edges — and those cheesy graphics bearing an 800 number promising to change your life (in this case, the number, “1800REALHOTGIRLSH*T,” is way too long). It even has the “please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery” disclaimer. Naturally, Meg and her dance team demonstrate the energetic, booty-forward dances that’ll get viewers sweating, and at the end, Megan gives her own testimonial.

“My friend’s booty used to be silent!” she exclaims. “Quieter than a church mouse!” Clearly, she implies, the latest Hottie Bootcamp changed all that. The only downside? The trailer has one last disclaimer: Knees not included. I guess you can’t have everything. You can watch the video below.

Once upon a time, Angelina Jolie was linked to a cinematic effort to bring Patricia Cornwell’s monumental forensic pathologist, Kay Scarpetta, to the big screen. That clearly did not end up happening. Over a decade later, Nicole Kidman decided to pick up the role as part of her unending efforts to become streaming TV queen and make the world forget about her part in the Aquaman movies. Sound like a plan? Sure.

Seriously though, Kidman has recently mesmerized with Hulu’s trippy wellness thriller, Nine Perfect Strangers, while juggling duties for Prime Video Amazon’s Expats and Taylor Sheridan/Paramount+’s Lioness. Additionally, she joined up with fellow Paddington villain Hugh Grant in HBO’s The Undoing, and she and the rest of the Big Little Lies ladies are gearing up for a third season of that HBO hit. Does she even have the bandwidth to star in another TV show?

Apparently so, and although three of the above series are David E. Kelley productions, Kidman turned a new gear by signing on with Blumhouse Television for a Kay Scarpetta series that will stream on Prime Video/Amazon. As if she doesn’t have enough on her plate, this is allegedly happening:

Plot

As Patricia Cornwell devotees realize, dozens of Kay Scarpetta books, beginning with 1990’s Postmortem, exist for the taking. This series could take the Reacher route (also on Prime Video/Amazon) by launching the series with the first book and then diving to and fro with subsequent outings, or not. Yet my point is this: no shortage of source material exists, and no shortage of readers will be waiting for this show to surface.

Also, perhaps the show will enlighten us as to whether Scarpetta doesn’t seem to age because she might be a vampire? Only halfway kidding there, but despite the fact that so many books do exist, there’s a surprising dearth of details on where this show plans to begin. That’s been the case since early 2023, when Deadline initially reported that this series was “expected to receive an order for two eight-episode seasons,” which would be brought to life by Amazon Studios and Blumhouse:

Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta books have completed their long journey to the screen with a blockbuster TV series starring Oscar winner Nicole Kidman in the title role and Oscar nominee Jamie Lee Curtis as the famous forensic pathologist’s sister Dorothy, I have learned. Kidman is executive producing through Blossom Films and Curtis through Comet Pictures the drama, from writer-showrunner Liz Sarnoff (Barry) and Blumhouse Television, which I hear is nearing a two-season straight-to-series order at Prime Video.

When will this happen? As noted above, Kidman is very in demand on TV these days, and Jamie Lee Curtis recently finished wrapping Halloween-related duties while terrorizing the Berzatto fam on The Bear in an ongoing capacity. Recently however, TVLine reported that the deal did come together and that the show “is set to begin filming in Nashville this September.” Fingers crossed.

Cast

Jamie Lee Curtis and Kidman are the only confirmed cast members thus far. Surely, more news will arrive soon on that end.

Release Date

We are outta luck here, although it doesn’t seem likely that this series will surface until at least late 2025.

Trailer

If only! Cornwall’s iconic character has been waiting to grace screens for literally decades, so we can wait at least a bit longer. Since we haven’t yet mentioned Kidman’s recently released Netflix movie in which she gets busy with Zac Efron, here’s the trailer for A Family Affair.

Some people are gifted with good balance and graceful movements, while others…well…are not.

For whatever reason, a certain percentage of folks are lovably clumsy, unable make it through a day without dropping, spilling, bumping, tripping, knocking, kicking or otherwise fudging up their surroundings in some way. These are the folks for whom the phrase “bull in a china shop” was coined, and bless ’em, they simply can’t help it.

If that’s you or someone you know and love, we’ve got a treat for you.

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Instagram creator Tommy Solemn made a video of “clumsy people just trying to live a happy life,” and it hits home for countless klutzes who see themselves in every slip, flip, drip and trip. The video has over 55 million views and counting, which speaks to how many people it speaks to.

Watch here:

See on Instagram

The physical comedy is brilliant, but the clumsy among us seeing themselves in the comments the real delight.

“Hands up if you have been personally victimised by a door handle! 🙌”

“The clothes on the door knob….. I felt that in my soul 😂 happens to me every time.”

“Me, then i wonder where bruises come from. 😅”

“I didn’t give you permission to record me in my house.”

“‘Suggested for you’ I FEEL ATTACKED.”

Some people added even more scenarios they’ve experienced.

“What about the one where you’ve successfully switched the tap on to wash something in the kitchen sink, then you reach over to turn the tap off. But somehow, as you reach over, the spout of the tap goes up your sleeve and you get a sleeve full of water. I don’t know how many times I’ve done that one.”

“You forgot about putting something down super carefully, then knocking it over pulling your hand away 🤣”

“All these things happen to me all the time. I was walking down the road with a shopping bag and somehow the handles got caught on the tyre valve of a parked car and yanked me backwards. How does that even happen?”

“I literally play 5 instruments and can balance on my toes in ballet pointe shoes but walking into a doorway without hitting my pinky toe is impossible.”

“Why is this me though 🤣 I actually walked really hard headfirst into a sign on a lamppost yesterday and someone asked me if I was ok and I wanted to disappear. 🫠”

Here’s to the community of klutzes who feel seen and a little less alone, thanks to this video. You can follow Tommy Solemn on Instagram for more.

Yesterday (July 4), Kendrick Lamar dropped the official music video for chart-topping diss track, “Not Like Us.” But if you thought for a second, Drake would duck and hide until things died down, you might just end up with egg on your face.

One of the culture’s biggest annual events, Essence Festival, could be the “First Person Shooter” rapper’s ticket back into the public’s good graces. Well, Birdman surely thinks so. Starting tonight (July 5), the festival’s evening concert series will spotlight some of music’s biggest names with a heavy emphasis on New Orleans natives.

In an exclusive chat with People, Birdman teased that not only will his performance later commemorate the 30th anniversary of Cash Money Records, but he has several surprise guests lined up, which could very well include Drake.

“Everybody you’re thinking of as far as Cash Money [will be there],” he said. “A lot of people that started with me when we was young in the game. It’s going to be a great night.”

Although Drake has his own record label, OVO Sound, he owes his start in music to Lil Wayne’s Young Money Records imprint and, by extension, Birdman. With Lil Wayne’s heart set on headlining Super Bowl 2025 in New Orleans, this could be an epic bounce back for Drake from rap’s most talked about beef.

Father’s Day was officially celebrated last month. But daddy duties never stop. First time poppa, DDG would certainly agree. Since the birth of his son Halo at the top of the year, the “Way Too Petty” rapper and his girlfriend and fellow entertainer Halle Bailey have slowly and cautiously shared small milestones online.

On July 3, the couple revealed the adorable infant’s face in a gallery of family vacation photos. Although the images were met with overwhelmingly positive responses, a few outliers hide in the comment section.

Not only did DDG notice the snide remarks, he decided to clapback with a few of his own. In a video captured by The Shade Room, DDG let loose on the trolls.

“I read a few comments,” he said. “I know I have the best looking son in the world. There is no baby out there that is more handsome than my son. But I seen a few poor, broke, dirty, fat back b*tches on Instagram talking about my son, and it just makes me so angry and mad.”

His insults didn’t stop there. “But then I have to realize that my son is richer than them,” he said. “And he has a more successful life than [them]. And he’s in Italy at 6 months [old]. He’s been across the world. He’s been around the world already, and he has only been living for six months. And they are poor, broke, and can barely eat probably on welfare still, and they are grown probably living with they momma.”

Watch the full video below.

Who is BabyTron, the Detroit rapper who joined Big Sean as a feature on Eminem’s new single, “Tobey“?

Eminem’s latest release from the upcoming album The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), isn’t just a showcase for the self-proclaimed Rap God — it’s a multigenerational display of some of the most notable names from the Motor City. While Eminem represents, in many ways, the generation who helped make rap the global phenomenon it is today, and Big Sean is the contemporary hitmaker keeping that legacy alive, BabyTron is the future of the Detroit sound. A love for truly unhinged wordplay ties them all together.

BabyTron is the definition of a Y2K baby, born in July 2000 as James Edward Johnson IV in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He started rapping at just 13 years old, creating the trio Sh*ttyBoyz in high school with friends TrDee and StanWill. A proponent of so-called “scam rap,” BabyTron’s been putting out mixtapes commercially since 2017, garnering his first big looks from outside his hometown when Lil Yachty released his Michigan Boy Boat tape, putting on various rappers from the Great Lake State — including BabyTron, who appeared on “Hybrid.”

Since then, his star has been on the rise, with a seemingly never-ending stream of new projects released through Empire distribution, most recently, MegaTron 2. He was featured as a XXL Freshman in 2022 and some of his notable tracks have included “100 Bars” and “Emperor Of The Universe” with their Cole Bennett-directed videos, and “Prince Of The Mitten.” Check them out below.

Much like the screeching cries of the cicada, Minions resurface every couple of years for a fun new animated adventure. Even though Gru is the main guy in the Despicable Me movies, the Minions have really made a name for themselves, and those names are Stuart, Bob and Kevin.

Obviously, the Minions became such a stand-out, they needed to have their own separate movies and origin story. This makes the world of Despicable Me that much more rich with important backstories! And the word “banana” over and over again. If you want to watch the movies in release order, then you’ll have to watch the following:

-2010’s Despicable Me
-2013’s Despicable Me 2
-2015’s Minions
-2017’s Despicable Me 3
-2022’s Minions: Rise of Gru

Because Minions and Minions: The Rise of Gru act as prequels and Minion origin stories, if you want to watch the movies in chronological order, start with those two first to get the full picture of the Minion-verse. Then Despicable Me 1, 2, and 3.

As for where to watch them, you’ll have to shuffle around a bit. The first three Despicable Me movies are streaming on Peacock, while 2015’s Minions is streaming on Netflix. The most recent installment, Minions: The Rise of Gru, is on Prime Video. Finally, if you need even more Minion vibes in your life, the short films Minions & More are streaming on Netflix.

When you’re all done with that, you can finally head to the theaters for Despicable Me 4. Your hard work will pay off there.

After a long wait, Westeros finally came back to our TV screens in June, and already, we have reached the halfway mark of the second season. How far can King Aegon II run Team Green into the ground? We shall soon see, but Daemon is doing his part to go off the rails on behalf of Team Black, so we’ll call it even so far. At least the audience agrees that Criston Cole is the absolute worst character on the show, so TV really does bring people together.

When Does ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2, Episode 4 Come Out?

The next episode, “A Dance Of Dragons” arrives on Sunday, July 7 at 9:00pm EST and PST. The magic can be found on HBO or streaming on Max.

This week, the threat of war becomes full-on reality, probably with more evidence that Aegon is not fit to lead since he made Ser Criston Cole the king’s hand when he doesn’t even do the “knighting” thing well. There will also surely be more followup on Daemon’s hallucinations, including what Alys Rivers means to the Harrenhal leg of the story.

The second season contains eight episodes, so we must relish each week’s offerings because it will be a years-long wait until the third season. Fortunately, Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will surface in 2025 to help bridge that gap.